“Can a downstream company without economical feedstock survive?" he posed. "The longer [you move] your value chain upstream, the better the economics. There's no reason why a company downstream shouldn't move upstream.”

To this end, the company is partnering ?xml:namespace>Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas to bid for Saudi Arabia's first private sector 400,000 bbl/day refinery project in Jazan, south of the kingdom, said Al-Ogaili.

The government is expected to present bidding companies with request for proposals (RFP) by the first quarter next year.

Nama Chemicals also plans to be the No 1 supplier to the epoxy market in the Middle East, said Al-Ogaili.

It is in the midst of doubling its epoxy resin capacity to 120,000 tonnes/year.

The expansion plant located in Jubail is expected to start up commercially in the first quarter of 2011.

“We're a small company but we're agile. We understand the logic [in the region] a little better. We also deliver faster because we're near. We have certain advantages that we're trying to maximise,” said Al-Ogaili.